Blackmagic launches 4K broadcast camera for price of a high-end DSLR

Video camera maker Blackmagic Design has announced the "world’s most affordable and flexible professional" camera aimed at broadcast and studio film makers. The URSA Broadcast shoots Ultra HD resolution, uses an interchangeable lens mount and costs just $3,495.

The camera comes with the B4 lens mount, but this can be switched so the camera can accept PL, F or EF lenses. Users can load relatively low-cost SD or CFast media to record their footage, with the camera offering two slots for each format. Lossless 12-bit CinemaDNG Raw recording is possible for projects that require the best quality, while broadcast footage can be shot in 10-bit DNxHD 220X, DNxHD 145 or ProRes formats with metadata.

Blackmagic says the URSA Broadcast produces vibrant colors and accurate skin tones so that footage is ready to use straight from the camera, while an extended video dynamic range ensures a wide range of brightness values can be recorded. Three ND filters are built-in and can be dropped into the light path at the turn of a dial. The strengths offered are 1/4, 1/16th and 1/64th stops, and each comes with IR compensation to maintain matchable colors from different situations.

The handling of the camera concentrates on placing controls on the outside of the body rather than in menu systems, and the company claims that should any button or control point fail during a job its function can be switched to another button as redundancy has been built into the design.

The Blackmagic Design URSA Broadcast is available now. For more information see the Blackmagic website.

Press release

Blackmagic Design Introduces URSA Broadcast

The world’s most affordable and flexible professional HD and Ultra HD broadcast camera for live production and studio programs, at the same price as a DSLR camera!

Fremont, California, USA - February 1, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced Blackmagic URSA Broadcast, a new high end, professional broadcast camera designed for both studio programming and live production. URSA Broadcast works with existing B4 broadcast HD lenses, can be used for both HD and Ultra HD production, features a 4K sensor, extended video dynamic range, traditional external controls and buttons, built in optical ND filters, dual CFast and dual SD card recorders, and much more. Blackmagic URSA Broadcast is available now for only US$3,495 from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.

URSA Broadcast is like two cameras in one, an incredible field camera for ENG and programming work, as well as a professional studio camera. The camera features traditional broadcast controls along with exceptional image quality, all in a compact design that is ideal for fast paced, fast turn around production work. The key is URSA Broadcast’s new extended video mode which captures incredible looking video with accurate skin tones and vibrant colors. That means customers don’t have to color correct images before going to air, making URSA Broadcast perfect for news, live sports, studio talk and game shows and more. URSA Broadcast lets customers shoot, edit and get stories on air faster than ever before.

URSA Broadcast is also designed to work with the equipment and systems traditional broadcasters already have. For example, customers can use their existing B4 HD and Ultra HD lenses with URSA Broadcast. Unlike other broadcast cameras, URSA Broadcast records onto inexpensive standard SD cards, UHS-II cards and CFast cards, and records 1080i or 2160p video into standard .mov files, with .mxf to be added in future updates. URSA Broadcast records using DNx145, DNx220X or ProRes, so video doesn’t need to be copied or transcoded. This makes it fast to work with video from URSA Broadcast because it’s compatible with virtually all existing broadcast systems and editing software.

The B4 lens mount and matching sensor on URSA Broadcast enables wide depth of field, so broadcast customers can shoot without constantly chasing focus. The lens mount features high performance optics with spherical aberration correction specifically designed to match the camera’s sensor. The ?” mount lets customers use existing HD lenses or Ultra HD lenses. Because B4 lenses are par-focal and have an extremely wide depth of field, images stay in focus when zoomed in and out. That lets customers work faster because they don’t need to change lenses or refocus between close up, medium and wide shots. URSA Broadcast also supports full electronic B4 lens control so customers can adjust focus, iris and zoom using the camera’s controls, or remotely from an ATEM switcher or ATEM Camera Control Panel. In addition, the standard B4 lens mount can be swapped with optional EF, F and PL mounts so customers can use everything from inexpensive high quality photographic lenses all the way up to massive cinema lenses.

URSA Broadcast features a high quality 4K image sensor and a new extended video mode with better dynamic range and color fidelity. The sensor is designed for both HD and Ultra HD, producing images with fine texture and detail, accurate skin tones, vibrant color and high dynamic range. The images from URSA Broadcast have been designed to be used without additional color correction. This makes editing faster, which is crucial in the fast paced broadcast world. The high resolution sensor is a huge advantage, even when working in HD, because it enables sub pixel image processing and superior anti-aliasing, resulting in super sharp images.

URSA Broadcast is designed to be the toughest and most fully featured camera available. It includes everything customers need in a compact handheld magnesium alloy body that’s durable and light enough to use anywhere. There’s an external high visibility LCD status display for viewing critical shooting information, a foldout touch screen for reviewing shots without needing an extra on-set monitor, professional connections such as 12GSDI, XLR audio, built in high quality stereo microphones and more. Plus, every single control on the camera has a redundant backup, including the power, so if anything should go wrong in the field, the camera can still be used.

URSA Broadcast also features built in neutral density (ND) filters with IR compensation for quickly reducing the amount of light that enters the camera. The ¼, 1/16th and 1/64th stop filters are specifically designed to match the colorimetry of the camera and provide additional latitude, even under harsh lighting conditions. That means customers can use different combinations of aperture and shutter angle to achieve shallower depth of field, or specific levels of motion blur, in a wider range of situations. The IR filters evenly compensate for both far red and infrared wave lengths to eliminate IR contamination. The ND filters are true optical filters with a precision mechanism that quickly moves them into place when the ND filter dial is turned.

Blackmagic URSA Broadcast puts control buttons, switches, knobs and dials on the outside of the camera, giving customers direct access to the most important camera features. The controls are laid out in a logical order that makes them easy to remember so operators can use the camera without having to look at the buttons, hunt through menus, or take their eye off of the action. URSA Broadcast also features a high visibility LCD status display which shows important information such as timecode, shutter and lens settings, battery, recording status, and audio levels. The status display features a backlight and is designed to be clearly visible in both dimly lit studios and outside in direct sunlight.

URSA Broadcast features both dual CFast 2.0 recorders and dual SD/UHS-II card recorders. Both types of media are standard, non-proprietary, inexpensive and readily available at most computer and camera stores. Customers can record 10bit broadcast quality DNxHD 220X, DNxHD 145 or ProRes files with metadata, making it is easy to integrate URSA Broadcast into existing broadcast systems and workflows. URSA Broadcast can even record lossless 12bit CinemaDNG RAW files for high quality programming and post production. With dual slots for each media type, URSA Broadcast gives customers redundant recorders and non-stop recording. When the first card is full, recording automatically continues onto the next card so the full card can be swapped while recording continues on the other.

All of the connections on URSA Broadcast are standard television industry connectors so customers don’t need expensive, proprietary cables. The camera features multi rate 12GSDI connections for video output and return program feed input. Both connections automatically switch speed so they work with all HD and Ultra HD formats up to 2160p60 over a single cable. In addition, URSA Broadcast features HD-SDI monitoring out, 2 LANC inputs, balanced XLR audio with phantom power, and timecode/reference input. A 12 pin Hirose connector provides analog and digital broadcast lens control for powering and controlling SD, HD and Ultra HD lenses. There’s also a 4 pin XLR 12V DC power output and HD-SDI monitor output that can be used with Blackmagic viewfinders or any third party viewfinders and monitors.

Blackmagic Design also makes a complete set of professional camera accessories designed to work perfectly with URSA Broadcast. Customers can add a Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder or a large 7 inch Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder. There are microphone mounts, standard V-Lock and Gold battery plates, optional lens mounts and more. The all new Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter, Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converter and ATEM Camera Control Panel let customers create a complete broadcast camera chain that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars less than traditional camera chains. The fiber converters let customers extend their cameras and power them from up to 2 km away using industry standard SMPTE fiber cables. It includes 1 Ultra HD camera feed, plus 3 HD return feeds, common live camera controls with multiple channels of talkback, and standard television industry talkback headset connections, all in a compact IP video based design that allow it to be connected and controlled from a live production switcher.

“URSA Broadcast lets customers get the most out of their investment in cameras and lenses because it can be re-purposed and used on every type of project, whether it’s out in the field or in the studio. It’s like getting two cameras in one.” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “URSA Broadcast is exciting because it makes high end broadcast camera technology available to everyone from AV and web producers all the way up to professional broadcasters, for the same price as a common DSLR!”

Does this help all the people that only care about a still cameras(DSLR) video capability?I still dont get why so many people are so concerned with video quality when there are and always have been Video cameras like this to buy.

I don't pertain to understand the video/pro-video market. But if this 'affordable' pro broadcast camera provides all the features that segment requires, why do cameras for said market sector usually cost...what...10 times as much?

The reasons I can say for sure are that BlackMagic doesn't have as many presidents and vice presidents scattered around the world who demand zillion dollar salaries nor greedy stockholders who want preposterous dividends. Also, most broadcast cameras have three 2/3-inch sensors and a mirror block to divide the light beam, so they're saving some dough there. Beyond that, I will defer to those who are more knowledgable than I.

Its relevant because digital photography overlaps heavily with digital videography in the current industry landscape. Strange that you both opened the article and took the time to comment if you don't think it is interesting.

@techjedi: 'if you don't think it is interesting' - I didn't say that I didn't think it was interesting, nor did I say that there isn't overlap in the industry. My comment was specifically about this model of camera and it's RELEVANCE. See below.

From the About Us section of DPReview.. 'Digital Photography Review's mission is to provide the most authoritative content around and reviews of digital photography gear in the world.'

Is this article about photography gear? If not then perhaps the About Us section needs revision?

Well they have been doing all of these artilces about how a cheap DSLR stacks against a proper video camera so heres a video camera that costs as much a still camera that will probablu crush that DSLR in terms of usablilty. So relevant only in respect of other articles they've done.

Almost any time I am commissioned a fashion, advertising, life style photoshoot, I am asked to provide, for an extra fee, a short video.many times we end up on shooting those videos with a Black magic camera.

The similar camera in the Sony range (HDC4300) is pricedaround 70/80 Euro and is the state of the art (Grass Valley, Ikegami, Panasonic, Hitachi a little bit cheaper) Blackmagic equipped withSMTPE cable adapter will cost around 11.000...But we don’t know nothing about HDR capability (now is a must if you buy new 4K broadcast cameras),and reliability, in broadcast no chance if you don’t have it.

I priced this out at B&H last night. To spec out the camera as shown in the promotional material would cost between $12,900 for HD only to about $45,00- if you want to shoot 4K. You see the regular HD lenses will not cover the entire, albeit small sensor. The EF lenses will, but then you loose the benefits of the eng camera, and the benefits of the lens design (constant focus when zooming).

I’m afraid BM is over stating the value of the camera by taking the RED approach of having to add so much to the body to make it work as advertised.

Shame. I was ready to order. Now it looks like Red is the best deal, or continuing to use DSLRs..

B4 lenses will cover the 11mm diagonal frame of B4 format, and as far as I can tell, the camera can produce a 4K image in its primary "4K B4 mode". I am not sure how and when the extra sensor area is used, but I am rather sure that it provides extra pixels beyond the B4 format frame, when used with lenses of larger image circles; for example when the camera is modified to use other lens mounts.

By the way, most or all zoom lenses produce an image circle that grows as they zoom in: roughly speaking, zooming in often simply magnifies the whole image circle. So even zoom lenses that are nominally for 11mm diagonal format will probably cover this larger 15mm diagonal sensor over much of their zoom range.

People, this is a broadcast “TV” camera. Watch the news, Tonight Show or Olympic Games and notice how the entire set is in focus. That’s what it’s for. Not films.This type of camera are normally stupid expensive so a low cost option is great for local cable, schools, A/V production companies, sports, and churches.

@J.A.P. 4K is excessive at present. For everything except wide-screen movies, and especially for streaming and broadcasting FullHD is still very much current, and will remain so for years more. 4K will be there only when every fifth household will have 4K UHD TV and 300 Mbps broadband, and every 10th mobile device will be capable of displaying 4K natively and lag-free. And, sorry, 5­–10" screen is 5­–10" screen, 4K is just not feasible there, since human vision is not and will not be able to discern all the details. FullHD is here to stay, and I consider this camera a FullHD device with a benefit of lax framing or downsampling. Editing 4K (actually, encoding and transcoding it) is much more demanding thing, so each and every 4K production requires (at present) dual Xeon or Threadripper-based config with some decent dual GPUs, 64Gb of RAM, several 1Tb SSDs, 2­–3 30+" UHD displays, 40Tb proxy storage array in the closet and a lot of 3Tb LTO cassettes for long-term archiving.

Had I given it any thought, I would have assumed there isn’t a big enough market for this class of device, this (relatively) cheap. Perhaps they’re assuming the YouTube stars* want to take their video to the next level? Or a cheaper, more disposable device for actual pros to use?

Plenty of stuff on the main TV channels is actually shot by fairly small companies and then sold on. Any savings they can make are welcome. And of course you say, YouTube, which is a lot broader these days than you seem to give it credit for.

@tinternaut, I don't think that the average "YouTube star" is the main target market. Although, the price does put it within the reach of many.

There is an increasing new segment of independent online broadcasters that use higher end equipment and production values that include multiple cameras, live green screen graphics, live titles, etc.

I watched the livestream announcement of this Blackmagic camera and the message I got was that this camera is intended to be both an in the field camera and a studio camera. Those two jobs are normally done using separate specialised cameras in traditional broadcast studios.

Applications include, live streaming, lower budget TV, conferences, long form events, corporate theater, live music, sports and unfortunately more cooking shows. Anything where remote control of iris, colour matching, gain, shutter and not being subject to overheating is a must. Also servo zooms with constant aperture. There's almost no competition at this price point. BMD also make vision mixers and all the glue devices required.

Basically all the crud that the `film makers' can't and don't want to shoot / edit.

There is a HUGE market for this device. Especially if BM guys decide sell some ready-to-go kits like Sony, Panasonic, Canon, and, to lesser extent, Ikegami and Grass Valley do. Imagine: this camcorder, shoulder pad compatible with tripod V-plate, viewfinder, battery plate, two batteries with a charger, two 256Gb CFast cards with a reader, some Fujinon or Canon 17x lens (with all micro-adjustments made), microphone mount with some RODE shotgun mic, some matching bag, and all that for $29'999 in one big box already assembled. That will be THE bang, I already see production crews lining up for such kit. Had I have 30 grand, I'd already order mine.

What I don't get is how do they manage to design the lens mount that it's so strong to carry such a long/heavy lens this way.You wouldn't walk around with a DSLR with a 500/4 sticking out the front like that, without support ;-)

If you see what's behind the bonnet of a cinema camera's mount (EF/PL/B4) you'll be amazed by the excessively over-engineering put in it with hunks of metal alloy extending all around the mount and fusing to the tripod collar on some cameras. They're really, really strong.

I hear Newest A7s cameras have much greater strength vs previous ones, and the 7DII has a stronger EF mount than the other line-up. It's all company claims I haven't seen it as in cinema cameras but I believe it makes sense to update mount strength and lower the margin of error that might occur from decentering.

Also long DSLR lenses have their own mounts so you wouldn't expect to hang a 500mm f4 off the mount without support. The centre of gravity on B4 cameras and cinema cameras does not go as far forward as it does on a DSLR, and they can use long sliding baseplates, rear batteries etc to help too.

Twenty years ago, the Flyer was one of the most advanced pieces of video production hardware you could get. Fully broadcast approved by the FCC for around ten grand including the Amiga. It was about a fifth of what the equivalent aftermarket solution on the Mac platform would cost you, and with the same or better output video quality. Yes, I'm aware that it's obsolete now...

At the time, the Flyer represented tremendous bang for the buck. Like this camera does, now.

So for someone who's been in the video world for a couple decades, it wasn't such a bad joke.

Nice thing. I don't understand, though, why did they put XLR inputs to the bottom and facing bottom, that's not quite reasonable for a field camcorder, calling for angled XLR jacks on all cables.

And, of course, the bottom line is a bit different. For a field shoulder setup it instantly requires $8000 for body only (viewfinder, shoulder mount, battery plate, 3 batteries, reasonable number of cards, like 4x 256Gb CFast 2.0). To retire my trusty old Sony PMW-EX1R, I'll need relevant lens also, meaning I have to churn in about $15k (at least) for comparable Canon or Fujinon glass. So, $23k anyway. Plus storage to keep archival footage, about $1000 a year, and more processing power to edit and re-encode it,

I'd go for Sony PXW-X400KF kit for that kind of money. Ok, it doesn't do 4K (let's not forget $20k more for an appropriate workstation for 4K editing and actual demand is mostly limited to FullHD yet), but the rest seems as good as it is.

This could tempt me into making films, at, in fact, very little extra cost with a Nikon F mount supplied because we stills guys already have all the lenses. As to 4K editing well, according to Apple you can do that on an iPad Pro now. I certainly can on my old computer, so you vastly exagerate the costs involved. $K monitors are everywhere very cheap now: they are called Televisions and as you can get a55" OLED display that attaches to your computer for around £1700, you already have everything with just a new TV or your child's (or yours) 28" 1Ms delay gaming monitor. I already view 4K footage from my FZ 1000 easily on a 2713H Ultrasharp Dell, so an old 14.2 iMac resolution, being the same should suffice. Extra outley, bah humbug, it is the revolution so wecome it in!!

Well just add viewfinder, battery and lens, and shoulder rig it can be exactly that- its image quality (in terms of DR etc) will probably blow an EX1 type camera out of the water. It's not a handycam, but it could be a pro field camcorder.

One can get sniffy about lenses, but this paired with a late SD B4 optic would probably work really well. For shallow DoF fans, look elsewhere.

@Revenant Of course it is not as durable as previous generation Sony XDCAM (PMW-series) camcorders are, but it doesn't mean it can't be used for run-and-gun stuff like other shoulder-mount ENG camcorders. Anyway, a rain cover and a warm cover for URSA Broadcast is a matter of time, not probability: this thing at $25­–35k price point (for complete outfit with lens) does all the stuff that is usually an area for cameras 4­–6 times more expensive. If they devise interchangeable sensor modules (of course, with some notches that prevent you from attempting to combine a B4 lens with a sensor larger than 1"), move XLR audio inputs to more appropriate place and make four of them, and use something like Sony SxS or Panasonic P2 cards (which are the most reliable media for camcorders ever, although maybe CFast cards are comparable in that regard) that will be the only camera you'll ever need. (continued below)

(begins above) Moreover, top-end stuff is right on the spot for this thing. It has everything a nice camera should have, just except large sensor, and you don't always need shallow DoF, low-light capabilities, or even both. Mind that Super 35 became a standard only because of film and lens quality, and film sensitivity issues more than 100 years ago, when “small format” stills cameras used type 127 and 120 films, and 4×5"/9×12 cm were as common as 24×36 stuff in the 1980s­–1990s. Had our ancestors been able to produce film and lenses as good as they became by late 1990s, I doubt that anything larger than 16 mm would be even considered for anything except projects like those filmed using Super 70 in 1960­-80s and are made for IMAX now.

@ Ignat Solovey actually the microphone XLR jacks are on the top (at the rear of the top) - what looks like the tripod mount plate in the photos is actually the top accessory mount plate. Though yeh they do point straight up rather than being angled but not so big an issue as it shouldn't get in the way of shoulder mounts or the operator.@Revenant go to the linked page on Blackmagics site and then to the "design" tab, they are primarily touting this as a field camera with studio capabilities.

"a number of Olympus lenses are not optimal on Panasonic bodies"The opposite is also true. I have tried a couple of M4/3 Panasonic lenses that do not autofocus properly on my OM-D E-M10 II... I do not know which is the culprit though : body, lenses ?All this means the M4/3 standard is either not quite well defined or respected, or both...

I believe the m4/3 standard mostly has to do with the physical dimensions of the lens mount, the flange back distance, and perhaps the electronic communication between lens and body. It was never claimed that things like AF or IS would work exactly the same, or equally well, irrespective of manufacturer. Of course competitors will want to keep some features proprietary.

About sensor size and those who want a larger sensor like 4/3" (or Super 35mm):1) Video shutter speeds are fairly low: about twice the frame rate, so 1/60s for 30fps and so on. So the desire for high usable ISO speeds for the sake of high shutter speeds is less of an issue here than with still cameras for action photography.2) A lot of usage is likely to be telephoto, and then (as always) doubling sensor format size doubles the focal lengths needed, so the lenses are either vastly heavier or keep weigh comparable by having about double the minimum f-stop, and so need to be operated at four times the ISO speed: not much of a gain, so long as the 2/3" sensor has enough DR.3) Extremely shallow DOF is rarely desirable for broadcast videography, as distinct from pre-planned cinematic photography.

In fact, some good (and expensive) movies have been shot on 2/3" sensors.

In addition to frame rates, which typically lie in the range of 30 or 60 fps, you have an adjustable shutter angle. At 180 degrees, the shutter speed is twice the frame rate. Since the shutter is electronic, you often achieve the equivalent of 1/12,000 second at 30 or 60 fps. Not specified here, but most cameras have faster and slower frame rates for slow motion and speed up, respectively. It's just that 30 and 60 (and 24) are compatible with consumer playback devices, and are so-called "normal" frame rates.

Valid statements, however ...This camera is interesting because it supports 4k60Hz.And 4k pixels are 1/4 the size of HD pixels, and a 180º 60fps shutter is 1/2 a 180º 30fps shutter, and 60fps is required to get 4k as crisp as HD.

So 2k -> 4k effectively means you need 8x the light (2^3). This is a rather universal btw and held true for SD -> HD too. That's like a factor 2.83 in extra crop induced by the jump from 2k to 4k.

I.e., this camera delivers about the same quality as a 8.15x crop HD quality, a bit worse than a phone camera delivers for HD.

I am not sure that this is really adequate for a 2018 broadcast camera at this price point.

@Ed, I agree that different shutter angles and frame rates are sometimes used for video, but this camera is aimed at broadcast work (like TV studios), where I expect that it is going to be 30fps and standard shutter angle most or all of the time. Looking at other broadcast TV cameras, the sensor size range seems to be 1/2" to 1", with even some far more expensive models than this using three 1/2" sensors. For comparison, the sensor in this one seems to be a bit bigger than 2/3", slightly smaller than 1" format.

@Falconeyes With video, the shutter speed is not increased in proportion to resolution; it likely stays at the same exposure time for the same frame rate. (That is what happens if the same standard shutter angle is used). So going from 2K (1080p HD) to 4K would require four times the light gathering area, not eight — and that only if you keep the same DOF in the larger format, so doubling the f-stop when going from 1/3" to 2/3". I think instead that a broadcast camera can by used with fairly low f-stop lenses and sl have enough DOF. For example, If 2/3" format can use the same f-stop as a 1/3" format phone camera, it will get substantially more light per pixel in 4K than the phone gets in 2K.

We've gone from full frame cameras back to 2/3" sensors proving that sometimes bigger is not always better. It remains to be seen how this tiny sensor with 4k resolution will handle low light situations. And then, this camera is not SO affordable as B4 broadcast lenses will cost 2x, 3x or even 10x the price of the camera itself.

I guess the people who complain about sensor size in broadcast cameras like this one, have seen a lot of productions shot with such cameras, and never ever thought to themselves: "Why the hell didn't they use a larger sensor for this?"

Lighting is expensive, both purchase and in use (power usage).Bright lights are extremely uncomfortable for actors, presenters, audience and so on.So if you can do away with the bright lights, why not use that opportunity?The past is not perfect.

Just to point out a thing. 2/3" have been used in broadcast many many years, but the problem is fitting 4k resolution in the same 2/3" that was used to SD, then HD and now 4k. It is really a challenge for the manufacturers to keep the same performance we are used to.

"... Three ND filters are built-in and can be dropped into the light path at the turn of a dial. The strengths offered are ¼, 1/16th and 1/64th stops, ..."

I only shoot stills, so can someone explain this to me? On my large format cameras and on my SLRs, my ND filters that I have for use are: 1 full stop, 4 stops, 8 stops, and 12 stops. I imagine--having read the above--that shooting video is somehow very different.

When I go out to shoot single frames, I cannot think of an example where I've ever said, "Man, I wish I could add 1/64th of a stop to my shutter speed." Can someone explain what sort of situations are there where it would make a significant difference to make such small exposure adjustments? Something related to shooting slow-mo???

Or, is there a link to an article or tutorial that explains this? I'm very curious. :-)

As far as I know, in video, it is better to keep the shutter speed just slightly faster than the frame rate. If not, when using much faster shutter speed, a moving subject is "frozen" in each frame, creating a bigger gap between its positions in one frame and the next one. In the resulting video, the subject movement is jerky (kind of stroboscopic effect). With a slow shutter speed, the moving subject is motion-blurred and occupies a wider space on each frame, reducing the gap between its consecutive positions. The resulting video is more pleasing to see, with a smooth subject motion.

A video camera usually runs at a slow frame rate, typically 30 or 60 fps. You can speed up the shutter (decrease the shutter angle), but anything faster than 1/100 second leads to annoying stroboscopic effects. A built-in ND filter allows you to shoot with an appropriate degree of motion blur.

Funny thing is that the optimum shutter speed for video is up in the air right now. With TV sets that do frame interpolation to 120 or 240 fps, the picture looks better if the individual frames are sharp. For a good example, Play one of Mike Olbinski's storm chasing time lapse videos or something like Timescapes on a 4k computer monitor and then play the same video on a recent 4k TV. On the computer, there will be scenes where you kind of wish the picture wasn't quite so sharp. No such problem with the TV. Time lapse videos are beautiful, and there is typically no motion blur in time lapse videos because they are made up of a series of stills from a DSLR or mirrorless still camera. My sense is that in the future, video will be shot with sharp frames, which translates to short shutter angles, and also to larger sensors to get the necessary sensitivity.

You can connect a wide variety of external recording devices, including those with SSDs. It is often more convenient or necessary to run untethered, and removable memory cards allow you to shoot indefinitely before recovering space, provided you have enough cards. Some cameras automatically cards when one is filled. If you can hot-swap cards, you can shoot continuously for hours, as I often do for events. Scene changes are usually gapless.

Yes, I'm not involved in tv production (was working IT for local tv station long time ago but it's hardly the same - and they were old SD cameras with no local storage). I do however use CF, SD and SSD daily for various needs (not just cameras, a lot of equipment in our laboratories use them).That said - how does this relate to not having m2 on this camera? I'm genuinely curious about what would be downsides?

A cine lens isn't just parfocal (maintaining focus across magnifications).It's also free of focus breathing (maintaining magnification across focus).Both properties are independent from each other, and both are equally important.

BTW, some still zooms are parfocal too, e.g., a few Pentax K mount power zoom lenses. With a few old K mount bodies, you could even automatically change magnification during AF to keep the subject size constant; in these old days ...

That camera has been featured at the Blackmagic website for a long time and the URSA Mini 4k is $500 cheaper. It is not the most affordable” if you add a few extras like a battery and the $1500 viewfinder!

Now if it were designed and built by a Chinese company, one gets bought and used at private U.S. corporate or political briefings, all the while streaming video directly back to Chinese intelligence agents. Isn't that what they were afraid of with the Chinese cellphones they won't carry in the U.S.?

"Made in China" is a legal label that only tells us where final assembly was done. Complex digital products typically incorporate key components (chips, glass, coatings, etc.) that are supplied by companies from the US, South Korean, Japan, and other countries, that in turn source the components from all over the place.

Haha just having a laugh at turvyT's jab about country of origin ... it seems like a antiquated view to think the Chines can't make super high end product... I guess there are probably still a few oldies who look down on Japanese products too.

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Whether you've grown tired of what came with your DSLR, or want to start photographing different subjects, a new lens is probably in order. We've selected our favorite lenses for Sony mirrorlses cameras in several categories to make your decisions easier.

Whether you've grown tired of what came with your DSLR, or want to start photographing different subjects, a new lens is probably in order. We've selected our favorite lenses for Canon DSLRs in several categories to make your decisions easier.

For the past few weeks, our readers have been voting on their favorite photographic gear released in the past year in a wide range of categories. Now that the first round of voting is over, it's time to pick the best overall product of 2018.

Sony had the full-frame mirrorless market to itself for nearly five years, but it's no longer alone – the Nikon Z6 and Canon EOS R have both arrived priced to compete with the a7 III. We take a head to head to head look at these three cameras.

As if it needed one, the triple-camera smartphone might really be the final nail in the compact camera's coffin. DPR contributor Lars Rehm brought the LG V40 on a hiking trip recently and found it to be a huge leap forward in terms of creative freedom.

Renowned UK-based landscape photographer Nigel Danson has been using DSLRs for years. In this video, created exclusively for DPReview, Nigel discusses his experience using the Nikon Z7 and why he's excited about mirrorless cameras. (Spoiler... beautiful scenery ahead.)

Chinese optical manufacturer Kipon has added the Nikon Z and Canon R mounts to its range of adapters made to attach medium format lenses from Hasselblad, Mamiya, Pentax and others to full frame cameras.